Rick Ware Racing Forges New NASCAR Alliance for 2023

Cody Ware

Getty Cody Ware races at Michigan International Speedway.

Rick Ware Racing is making a move for the 2023 Cup Series season. The two-car operation will forge a technical alliance with RFK Racing, per a report by Racin Boys.

Lee Spencer provided the report on November 28. She provided quotes from RFK Racing President Steve Newmark, who confirmed that RWR will lease space on the RFK Racing campus in Concord, N.C. Spencer also reported that this technical alliance is for “2023 and beyond.”

Spencer was the first to report on this technical alliance. Rick Ware Racing also confirmed it by tweeting out a simple message expressing excitement about the future.

RWR will continue to get its engines from Roush Yates Engines. The Cup Series organization signed a multi-year deal with the manufacturer prior to the 2022 season while moving over to the Ford Performance family. This relationship will continue as RWR and RFK Racing begin to work together.

Rick Ware Racing has a role in multiple racing series. The team fields entries in IMSA, the NTT IndyCar Series, and the FIM World Supercross Championship. RWR also announced a move into NHRA. However, NASCAR remains the organization’s primary focus.


RWR Had a Different Technical Alliance in 2022

Rick Ware Racing

GettyCody Ware races at Michigan International Speedway.

The 2022 Cup Series season marked many changes for Rick Ware Racing. The organization went from four entries down to two, and it became a full-fledged member of Ford Performance.

Part of this move to Ford, which RWR announced in October 2021, included a technical alliance with a different organization. The Rick Ware-led team inked a deal with Stewart-Haas Racing, which went through the 2022 Cup Series season.

The technical alliance between the two teams included assistance from SHR as RWR built up its fleet of Next Gen cars. RWR also utilized the developmental pit crew while continuing to pursue better performances each week.

The alliance with SHR was only one step for RWR as the organization tried to become more competitive during the first year of the Next Gen era. The technical alliance with RFK Racing and the move to the Concord campus are two more major steps as RWR continues to pursue progress.


RWR Has More News To Announce

The technical alliance with RFK Racing will potentially help RWR make positive strides during the 2023 Cup Series season after its drivers secured three top-10 finishes in 2022.

The alliance is only one piece of this puzzle. RWR also needs drivers and sponsors for its entries, but the organization has not yet provided any details about the lineup and whether there will be full-time drivers or a rotating group of options.

The 2022 season featured two separate setups. Cody Ware was the full-time driver of the No. 51 Ford Mustang, which marked an increase in starts after he made 32 in 2021. Meanwhile, the No. 15 Ford Mustang had multiple drivers filling out the 36-race schedule.

JJ Yeley was the main driver for the entry as he ran double-duty in the Cup Series and Xfinity Series. He made 18 starts in the No. 15, a run that included a 23rd-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. Joey Hand and Garrett Smithley each made six starts while Ryan Preece made two. Parker Kligerman added one start to the list.

David Ragan only made four starts, but he delivered the best finishes in the No. 15. He finished eighth in the season-opening Daytona 500, and then he finished ninth in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

 

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